Conspiracy Theory
by Pnome
Summary: Explosions? Gas bombs? Not exactly what Naruto expected on a normal tube ride home, but the stranger in the carriage seems to know what's going on... AU SasuNaru.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, to the extent of my knowledge at least. Unless I'm the illegitimate son and heir of Masashi Kishimoto, sent down the river Nile at birth to avoid being killed by some bastard Pharaoh. That would explain my blonde hair and blue eyes. And the fact that the river Nile is most definitely in Japan.

Rated T. Rating may go up.

This is my first fan fiction. Please don't hurt me. Would appreciate constructive criticism.

* * *

The rhythmic clunking of the train welcomed Naruto as he wearily tore his eyelids open. It was a Friday afternoon, and he couldn't wait to get home. As was typical of the summer months it was far too hot, and in the London underground, far too hot became unbearable. Shirts clung to sweating bodies jealously, the temperament of mothers tested, and the regret of the suit-clad businessman was obvious.

Naruto smiled, glad that his job as a journalist required much less formal attire. Still drowsy, he cast his eyes around the carriage he occupied: it had become a pass time of his, gazing at the people who surrounded him and wondering what stories they had to tell; what secrets they desperately tried to keep hidden. His carriage was relative empty, the benefit of getting out before rush hour started. Sharing his carriage was a small boy and his mother, a dark haired young man, an elderly women and a hooded youth.

Naruto found his eyes drawn to the small boy trying desperately to get the attention of his mother, brandishing a small action figure as he was and waving it at her frantically. The mother, on the other hand, sat with a disgruntled look on her face, clearly practiced at the art of ignoring the small boy, and stared at the opposite window whilst fanning herself with a newspaper. The small boy noticed Naruto's gaze and smiled sheepishly at him before ceasing his attempts at getting his mother's attention.

Naruto's eyes continued on their way, to the hooded youth who was sat fidgeting, stubbornly trying to resist the urge to take his heavy hooded garment off lest his face be exposed to the world. The elderly women sitting opposite him held a small battery-powered fan in each hand. Overweight, her mouth hung open and her eyes were dreary, making her look as if she was slowly being cooked.

The whole carriage was feeling the effects of the heat, the lack of air conditioning painful for all to behold. Except, that is, for the dark haired man, as he sat exceptionally still in a full black suit with an impassive look on his face, betraying no emotions or looks of discomfort. _Alright for some_. Naruto grunted and shifted his weight uncomfortably. _Not long now_, he told himself, glancing at his watch.

The train started to slow, nearing the next station. Naruto sighed thankfully. He had started to feel light headed.

Tantalisingly slowly the tube pulled into the stop, and Naruto noticed the advertisements, bright and colourful, and oddly comforting in the stifling heat. In front of him the elderly women put away her fans and tried to hoist herself to her feet. _Maybe I should help her?_ Naruto thought in passing, before returning his attention to the doors.

The tube had completely stopped moving now. The period between the tube stopping and doors opening seemed to stretch under the sickly heat.

As the doors began to open, Naruto listened expectantly for the refreshing whoosh of hydraulics and the comforting breeze. The doors never made it to the end of their journey.

Replacing the whooshing sound came a tremendous rumbling sound, deafeningly loud. The whole carriage shook, Naruto found himself lurching forward, and he barely managed to stop himself from colliding with the elderly lady by grabbing onto one of the overhead hand rails at the last minute. The lights flickered, desperately struggling to remain on, before spluttering pathetically and plunging the carriage into darkness.

Naruto fell to the ground with a gasp and clutched his ears - the shaking had stopped, but the noise was still so loud. He looked around desperately but could see nothing; the lights flickered on revealing the screaming face of the child and mother, a panic-stricken teen with his hood thrown back, the elderly women sitting in her chair with eyes closed and the dark haired young man sitting calmly. The lights went out again. It took Naruto a moment to realise that he was screaming, and that the mother and her child had also been screaming, but his vocal chords were nothing compared to the rumbling sound coming from up above.

As soon as it had started it stopped. Naruto's ears rung and the sound filled his ears until he wondered if he was deaf. He clutched at them pathetically in case they were bleeding or weren't there at all.

Lights flickered on again; a different colour this time, with more of an orangey hue. _The emergency backup lights_, Naruto registered. He pulled himself to his feet using a hand rail for support, and the cold sweat of fear mixing with the perspiration of a day's hard work sent tingles down his spine.

Naruto's hearing came back slowly as he glanced around the carriage in shock. The boy was screaming at the top of his lungs, his mother cradling him. The teen was sitting on his chair, his face as white as a bed sheet. The young man sat with the same impassive gaze on his face, as if nothing whatsoever had just happened. Lastly, Naruto turned his attention to the elderly women. Her eyes were still closed and her bag had dropped to the floor in the panic that had followed the deafening noise, its contents spread over the carriage floor.

Naruto had never seen a dead boy before, but he knew this was what one looked like.

Things happened very quickly after that. Naruto, light headed from heat and shock, stared down at the dead women before him. He felt himself backing away, raising his arms to push the reality of what had just happened away from him. _She's dead. She's really dead._

Her head lulled to one side and saliva had started to gather on her upper lip. She looked like a gross, slimy reptile.

Naruto retched, bracing himself on the seat he had previously been sitting in.

The women now pressed the child to her breast; to shield his eyes or just for her own comfort, Naruto would never find out. Screams filled the air in the deadly silence that had followed the sound from earlier.

Naruto stood up quickly: too quickly the orangey lights glared at him as he suddenly began to feel claustrophobic. He felt his knees buckle and the cold metal floor rushed towards him.

He never made it to the floor. Strong arms caught him, and with surprising ease they lifted him into a chair adjacent to where he had thrown up.

Naruto glanced up. It was the younger man with the dark hair and the suit, and the look on his face confused Naruto - almost as if he was annoyed at himself for what he had just done. The look soon passed, to be replaced by the uncaring look from earlier. He turned abruptly and walked back to the seat he had previously occupied.

"T-Thank you," Naruto muttered. He hated people having to help him, but was slightly awed by the reflexes of the man. Equally he was annoyed with himself. The young man was about the same age as him, but he wasn't throwing up at the site of the dead old woman.

Naruto rubbed his face furiously. _Get a grip!_ he shouted at himself. His turn had clearly panicked the mother, as she now rocked backwards and forwards holding her son, who was paralyzed by her fear.

Naruto's mind raced as he tried desperately to make sense of what was going on around him. _The doors are shut and the power's out... It sounded like an explosion...a terrorist? No, it was far louder than an IED would have made._ All Naruto knew for sure was that the doors were shut, they were at a station, and there were no lights on either, except for the orange hue of the emergency backup lights which even now began to flicker.

Whilst the carriage he was in was fairly calm - or at least as calm as could be expected under the circumstances - Naruto could hear screams from the carriages around him, confused and frightened, and he assumed that not all of the emergency lights were working.

Naruto strained his ears, hearing another sound over the panicked screams from the adjacent carriages. Again it was a human cry of fear, but this time it was different. It didn't carry with it a tale of confusion and claustrophobia, but instead brought a different story: one of intense, unbridled fear.

_What's going on up there?_

Naruto shook his head, determined not to let his imagination get the better of him. _I need to remain calm._ He glanced around at the inhabitants of the carriage.

_First things first,_ he thought, taking off his coat and approaching the elderly women gingerly. When he was about half a metre away he threw the coat over her gross face. He thought it was the decent thing to do, and truth be told, he still found her dead, lulling head repulsive to behold. Then he turned to the other inhabitants of the carriage. Apart from screaming, they hadn't said a word since this had all started.

"Right," he announced, unsure what to say: what could he possibly say to counter what had just happened?

"We need to remain calm." He couldn't think of anything better, but said it more to convince himself than to appease his fellow passengers. He glanced around the carriage, expecting a response of some kind, but found none. The teenager sat as pale as he had been since the ordeal began; the man in the suit was in his own little world, apparently oblivious to what was going on around him (with the exception of his stunt earlier); and the mother still used her child as a doll.  
**  
**"I'm sure somebody will come down to rescue us soon," Naruto tried again, attempting to make his voice sound as convincing as possible, but somehow he didn't believe himself. "They have protocol for this kind of thing, right?"

The lights flickered. How much longer were the lights going to last?

Naruto was become frustrated._ Why won't they answer me!?_ The screaming from the other carriages was beginning to subside now as people calmed slightly, but this was far from a good thing. The sounds from above the stations - screams of agony, groans the likes of which you never want to hear in your life; the types that send chills down your spine and scrape at your very soul - grew more audible as the occupants of the tubes quietened.

Naruto sighed, moving to the door. _I have to get these guys out of here._ Stepping up to the hydraulic door he hit the open button, calmly at first, but then with more urgency, until he was pounding it violently.

"That really isn't helping," came the curt, scathing comment from across the carriage. It cut Naruto like a knife.

Realising he had nearly started to panic, he turned angrily to the man in the suit. "Yeah? Well do you have a better idea?!"

The man looked at him as if he was something he had trodden in. He lifted a finger and pointed at the red 'break in case of emergency' glass box, encasing a hammer.

"That might help, not that you want to go out there."

Naruto scowled. _Who does this guy think he is? It's as if he knows exactly what's going on!_

"Who are you?" Naruto inquired suspiciously.

A smile spread slowly across the man's lips, and he leaned back, putting his hands behind the back of his head. With the screams subsiding and the sounds of what was going on above reaching the passengers of the surrounding carriages, panic stricken shouts could be heard, windows smashing as others remembered the small red hammers.

"Uchiha Sasuke".


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own it; I'm working on it though. Sent a polite letter to Masashi Kishimoto, seeing if he fancied letting me take over. I'll keep you posted.

* * *

Naruto found his eyes locked on the young man who sat before him, who went by the name of Sasuke. He wanted to look away but he couldn't.

_Does he know what's going on?_

Naruto's eyes were torn from Sasuke's eventually by the sound of many feet running, and the occasional thump coupled with pain-filled shouts that joined the familiar sounds of panic and fear that coursed through the underground station.

The fact that the lights were on the inside meant that Naruto couldn't see outside to the pitch black station, but he could imagine what was going on out there. Many of the carriage occupants had spilled out, desperately trying to find the exit, and with absolutely no lights and no means of navigation it had become a frenzied rush; men, women and children alike trampled by the surging crowds attempting to escape from what was rapidly becoming a crypt.

The lights flickered threateningly. It was obvious that leaving the carriage now was a bad idea. They needed to wait for the lights to come on in the station at least. But it wasn't just that; something else told Naruto that leaving the carriage right now was a very bad idea indeed.

The young teen didn't seem to agree, lurching forward, and inspired by the idea of escape he mashed the small red box open with his fist and grabbed the hammer. Raising it triumphantly over his head, he charged at the window nearest the platform.

"No!" Naruto yelled frantically. He was unsure why the idea of the teen smashing the window filled him with so much fear, but a gut feeling told him it was the worst possible thing to do. As the teen approached the window, the mother clutched even more desperately at her son; an instinctive reaction to the fear in Naruto's voice. Naruto saw Sasuke's head twitch up to glance at the charging teen.

At that moment the lights went out.

Naruto heard a horrific crunching noise: the sounds of bones being broken like twigs. The sound filled him up, overflowing his senses, and he cringed, his whole body doubling in on itself. He clenched his ears and fell to the ground. What was that?!

Naruto clutched desperately to the edges of the seat, panic now threatening to overwhelm him. _Calm down,_ he told himself, digging his nails deep into the padding of the seat.

Then it hit him. Why had they stopped running? The crunching sound of bone had come far too close for it to be outside the carriage, but it had marked the end of the crazed rush outside. In its absence Naruto could hear choking; coughing noises; deep rasping breaths. The sounds made Naruto freeze where he was, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. What was happening to them?!

Naruto's breathing began to increase, and he felt his whole body begin to shake uncontrollably. _CALM!_ he commanded himself, but it was no use, and panic surged through his body as he cast his eyes around manically for a source of light, finding none. The walls that he couldn't see seemed to be closing in around him.

As he felt darkness begin to take him, a firm hand placed itself on his shoulder, squeezing tightly. He recognised the strength this arm possessed. His breathing began to slow, and the feeling that the walls were closing in on him seemed to stop. He loosened his grip on the chair in front of him. The hand released his shoulder.

At that moment, enjoying the game they were playing with the occupants of the carriage, the lights flickered back on. Naruto breathed a tremendous sigh of relief. The coughing, rasping noises had almost ceased. He cast his eyes around the carriage and was almost sick for the second time that day.

Lying at his feet was the body of the teenager, and the hand which still clung to his prided hammer was a mangled, bloody mess. Naruto didn't know if he was dead or alive. He looked up at Sasuke, pleading for him to explain with his eyes.

Did he-?

Sasuke sat on the same chair, and he didn't return Naruto's gaze. Naruto was fairly sure he'd just touched his shoulder to calm him, but still the man acted as if nothing had happened. No, that wasn't quite right. _Is he...blushing?_ Naruto didn't know if it was the orange back up lights, or if his mind was tricking him, but his face seemed slightly redder than before. It was an awkward blush that suggested his face wasn't quite sure if it was doing it right.

"Did you -" Naruto didn't get to finish what he was about to say. There was a thump on the window behind Naruto, and turning, he let out a gasp of surprise. Two hands pressed on the windows outside. The windows were steamed from the occupants and it reminded Naruto of the clichéd horror movies he'd watched as a kid. The hands twisted, in obvious pain. They wanted the light. They needed it.

Naruto stood, looking at the hands desperately trying to get into the carriage. He felt tears prick his eyes. And suddenly, he knew the man outside was dying. He wanted to help him. He wanted to pick up the hammer from the mangled teenager's hand and smash the window in and hold whoever it was close to him. He knew he couldn't, and it tore him up inside. He let out one choked breath, closer to a sob than it should have been, before trying to compose himself.

_This isn't fair._

At some point the women had stopped rocking backwards and forward with her son and instead bent down, and, seemingly feeling the same emotions that Naruto felt, she picked up the hammer.

Naruto turned to her, feeling suddenly stronger. He had to help the people still alive. He promised himself he would. Slowly and compassionately Naruto raised his arm, palm open facing her. The women looked at him, her eyes welling with tears as the realisation hit her.

Everyone was dead apart from them.

They couldn't be helped.

Naruto's hand gesture got the message across. She put the hammer down slowly and hugged her son to her, hoping desperately that he didn't know what was going on.

Naruto slumped down on the floor. He wanted to tell her it was going to be alright. To take the kid in his arms and promise him that he wasn't going to die. But he couldn't. Something had changed in Naruto when the lights went out; when Sasuke had held his shoulder. His face contorted in determination. _Damn it all!_ he thought.

A faint hissing noise brought Naruto from his thoughts, and a black swirling substance began to fill in through the small vent shafts behind the seats.

He realised what at the same time his body moved. "Gas!" Naruto cried, and he jumped to his feet, quickly running around the carriage and closing all the vents. He breathed a sigh of relief. _I don't think much got in_.

Five minutes passed before Naruto heard the little boy utter something for the first time since he had smiled at Naruto.

"Mummy, what's that?"

Naruto glanced up and his stomach felt as if it had just flipped over. The black gas crept stealthily along the floor towards him. Looking around, he saw it billowing in from under the doors.

Naruto looked up frantically and saw Sasuke's face, as impassive as usual, as if he had known this was going to happen.

Sasuke caught Naruto's gaze and read it perfectly.

"There was nothing we could have done to prevent it. I didn't see any reason to cause alarm," he said quietly; as if resigned to his own death "It should be over soon."

Naruto was about to open his mouth to sound his confusion and mounting protest but his whole body ignored him, his lips seemingly fused together. He tried to get up, but his legs felt oddly weak, and using the handrail for support he pulled himself to his feet. _Sasuke, you bastard!_ He lurched towards the impassive black haired man, trying to make him feel his anger. He didn't reach him, and hitting the floor hard, his whole world began to spin.

Sound left him, replaced by an emptiness. His throat burned and his lungs screamed in pain as he realised he was no longer breathing.

And as his eyelids began to close, he saw the doors of the train whoosh open. Three pairs of thick leather boots made their way towards the occupants of the train.

"They're still alive."

* * *

Naruto's senses slowly came back to him, his head feeling oddly heavy and his hearing and vision still fading in and out.

"They're alive because of you."

The words travelled to him, but they sounded distant, as if someone was shouting them at the other end of a large empty hall. His hearing started to sharpen, and he could hear is own breathing, rasping and hissing.

_Where am I?_

He tried to open his eyes. They were sore and it hurt like hell but he managed to pull them open, tears of pain dripping down his face. He still couldn't see properly.

_It must be the gas._

It was as if someone had placed an elongated circle over each of his eyes, restricting the area he could see. He felt for his face and it felt strange, like smooth leather beneath his fingertips. _How much damage did this gas to do my senses?!_ he wondered, growing increasingly alarmed.

Naruto looked up. In front of him stood Sasuke and one of the men who had sported the thick leather boots. He looked like he was from a military organisation of some kind, a gun slung loosely around his neck and a bullet proof vest over his chest, with khaki undergarments.

The room he occupied resembled a hospital; it had that sterile feel to it. Far too much white to be comforting.

"Well done," he said to Sasuke, shaking his hand. It was the same voice as earlier. "I need to see to the east wing - can you watch over him? The women and child have recovered."

"I guess..." Sasuke said reluctantly, and the man saluted him before marching off.

Sasuke turned and looked at him, an odd expression crossing his face. Almost as if he was fighting between wanting to care for the disgruntled-looking Naruto and kicking himself for even considering the idea.

"Sasuke..." Naruto began. "There's something wrong. I... I can't see properly. There are like two circular patches of vision, and.. I can't feel my face. It's the gas, right?"

"You're wearing a gas mask you idiot." This seemed to have made up the indecision on Sasuke's face as he looked at him with wry amusement across his face.

_That damn Sasuke._ Naruto would have voiced this opinion, had the gas still not been making talking difficult.

"In the carriage.. you... I.. Than-"

"Nothing happened in the carriage," he replied shortly. Slightly wounded by this conclusion, Naruto looked away from Sasuke.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked, pointing at the mask on his face.

"They don't know if there will be any more gas coming down," Sasuke replied wearily.

"What the fuck happened?"

"I—" He stopped himself, and Naruto, through some odd instinct, thought it best not to push him.

An oddly awkward silence filled the room between the two. The imposing emotionless Sasuke from the very beginning of this whole escapade was gone: there seemed to be something he wanted to say, or rather, do.

Their eyes met again over the bed that Naruto occupied, and Sasuke's expression seemed to have softened again slightly. _What is the thinking?_ Naruto wondered.

Sasuke opened his mouth slightly as if meaning to say something, but before he could utter a syllable, the women from their carriage burst in and threw herself on Sasuke.

"Thank you!" she cried. "Thank you so much, I..." She didn't get any further than 'I' as great sobs of relief shook her body, and she held onto Sasuke's neck for support as she sobbed her thanks inter her mask, tears collecting at the bottom.

"I just don't know what I would have done if he had died. You're so brave!" she continued between sobs.

A look of irritation had swept over Sasuke's face; he didn't know how to react to this. It was obvious he wasn't at all comfortable with it, and after a few more moments, Sasuke peeled her off his shirt and held her at arms length.

"S-sorry, it's just he means so much to me, and I- I just wanted to thank you, but I can see you're busy," the woman said, and she glanced at Naruto and nodded to acknowledge him.

_What about all the help _I_ gave her?!_ he thought.

"My name's Sakura," she continued. "If you ever want anything, just – just let me know, okay?" She smiled sheepishly, suddenly embarrassed, and fled from the room.

The awkward silence returned and remained for the following hour. Sasuke seemed to have reconsidered what he was planning on saying to Naruto, and sat in silence. Finally, Naruto sat up, beyond frustrated.

"This is boring!" he declared. "Where are we? I'm going to go look around."

Sasuke looked up, irritated that he had been interrupted from his thoughts. Reluctantly he followed Naruto out of the room - he had been told to look after him, after all. Naruto wandered down the corridor.

"We're in an underground facility. We were moved here after the tube."

Naruto shuddered at the memory of that tube.

"What did you do in there? Why was that women so happy?" Naruto inquired, walking down the dreary grey corridor. It really did look like a military compound.

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke muttered.

They continued on in silence, and Naruto noticed that people had started to take their masks off, so he followed suit. It was itchy. The pair rounded the corner suddenly, to where a group of guards sat huddled around a piece of equipment.

"Are they survivors?" one of them asked, pointing at the machine in front of them.

"Impossible!" the man next to him shouted. "There's no way they could survive without masks."

"Maybe they've only inhaled a little? Or maybe there was no gas at all?" the first one suggested.

"I say we open the gates." the third guard said, and with a majority rule the guard who had objected sighed wearily.

"You know what they said about letting people in," he objected.

"I don't give a damn what they said. What the fuck's the point of this place if we don't offer people refuge?" the first guard replied passionately.

By this time both Naruto and Sasuke had stopped to watch the going's on.

"Fine," the guard said, sighing reluctantly. "We're opening the gates!" he shouted. "Prepare the air lock!"

The guard tapped a number of buttons on the front of the machine before turning to watch the massive gate that occupied the far wall.

Slowly, the door began to open. And Naruto gasped. It was about three metres thick: three metres of reinforced metal.

_What the fuck is that meant to keep out?!_

Naruto didn't ask Sasuke. He wasn't going to look stupid in front of the capable man again.

The door rumbled on its way, clanging to a halt at the end of its runners. There came a pause, and Naruto could tell that the guards were starting to get nervous as one of them hopped from foot to foot.

"Where are they?" he heard one mutter.

Naruto felt Sasuke's presence behind him.

Naruto squinted. He could see something begin to emerge: it moved forward apprehensively. Soon it was joined by another, and presently there were six of them beginning to make their way through the gate.

At first everything seemed normal. From what Naruto could see they were just people; just people looking thoroughly scared, as if what they'd seen outside those doors was horrific to behold. As they grew nearer, Naruto felt cold shivers being sent down his spine.

The look in their eyes.

They wanted to die.

"Hold it right there!" the sergeant who had been reluctant to let them through shouted. He raised his rifle and the men around him followed suite, clearly reluctant.

Still pointing his rifle at the group assembled some twenty metres in front of him, he punched keys into the machine to his left, and grumbling, the doors rattled shut. The relaxing sound of hydraulics did nothing to ease the tension mounting around them.

_Something's not right,_ Naruto thought, shifting uncomfortably. Sasuke's dominating presence calmed him slightly.

"What do we do?" the younger soldier who had passionately argued they should be let in asked. Clearly he hadn't thought this far ahead, and like Naruto, felt the sense that something just wasn't right.

At that moment the officer who had rescued them strode around the corner, his helpers in tow. A long coat hung casually over his right shoulder as strode towards them, returning from east wing. He stopped abruptly and his face flushed red with anger.

"Sergeant?" he barked. "What is the meaning of this?"

He stormed past Naruto and Sasuke and stopped a few metres from the sergeant and his assembled men.

"I gave _clear_ instructions that no survivors were allowed through." His face was taught with rage. "You know the procedure soldier; it's been reported that survivors who have been subject to the gas for more than an hour have known to become unstable! This was clearly re-laid to all command posts and specific orders not to let anybody in or out of the gates issued!" He spat the last few words, sending beads of spittle into the sergeant's face.

"Y-yes sir, I know sir, but-"

"No _buts_ damn you!" the officer cried in exasperation. He was fearful to behold in this rage that had beset him. "Do you want to compromise the safety of everyone here? Including those who were lucky enough to survive?" He threw a gloved hand in the direction of Sasuke and Naruto, who up to now he had apparently forgotten.

"No sir." The sergeant replied, his resolve gone.

In the silence that followed, one of the survivors who up to now had not uttered a word somehow summoned the courage to speak.

"We-we were inside the whole time," he stammered. "Th-the gas was gone when we came out and we f-followed the emergency radio directions here."

The officer turned and looked at the group assembled there. Their existence disgusted him.

"Rubbish!" he announced.

Naruto numbly wondered what would happen to the group. What did he mean they could become 'unstable'? In his mind he saw them transform into rabid beasts, charging towards him; ripping him limb from limb.

The officer returned his attention to the assembled guards.

"Shoot them," he hissed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

Here's chapter 3, hope you like it. It's more of a filler kinda thing, as I move from one plot point to the next, which is my weak point I feel.

Criticism and reviews are really appreciated.

* * *

Naruto kicked himself, disgusted at his own thought process. He had let his imagination get the better of him.

_Sh-Shoot them? _

These were people. People like him, like Sasuke, like Sakura.

The officer had uttered the word quietly; too quietly for the civilians standing twenty metres away for him to hear, but he seemed to have forgotten about Naruto.

"Shoot them?!" Naruto repeated loudly, anger dripping from his face as he stared with disbelief at the office who still loomed imposingly over the Sergeant and his

men. Unlike the officer's voice however, Naruto's carried on to the group who heard him clearly.

Their anxious looks were replaced with one of sheer terror and bewilderment.

They remained collectively rooted to the spot.

The officer turned abruptly, eyes flashing red. He point a finger at Naruto then, noticing Sasuke, thought better of it and returned to the guards. Naruto briefly wondered why Sasuke's presence had stopped the man who clearly knew little fear from shouting at him.

"I said, shoot them!" he repeated, still too quietly for the group to hear. His voice seethed with rage; he was used to getting his way.

"But Baki-"

"That's sir to you!" he spat venomously, "Now do as I say!"

Slowly the Sergeant and one of the two soldiers raised their rifles to point at the group whose faces were slowly becoming more and more petrified. The reluctance on the soldier's faces was evident by their gritted teeth.

One guard, however, didn't raise his rifle - the youngest of the three who had passionately argued they be let into the compound at the start of this confrontation. He instead stared at Baki, a resolute look in his eyes. The officer turned slowly, his large powerful head pivoting as if a lighthouse until it reached its destination.

Naruto could see the man wither under his gaze and for a moment Naruto thought he might cry.

"Shoot them," he said again, far too calmly given the situation. The man didn't move, still trying to hold the officer's gaze, but Naruto could see him visibly begin to weaken.

"Shoot them!" Baki screamed this time, bringing a pistol out from under the arm which was concealed by his coat in one smooth motion, pointing it directly at the man's head.

Things happened very quickly after that.

The group of civilians hearing the officer shout the command for the first time panicked, breaking like a heard of deer scattering in all directions.

"No!" Naruto screamed, seeing the inevitable and tears welling in his eyes. _How could they do this?!_

He charged forward, but Sasuke's strong arms held him tightly. And he knew in that second why.

They would just as soon kill them, too.

Eyes watering, the younger soldier raised his rifle in the direction of the fleeing people. Naruto beat his arms against Sasuke, bucking like a wild bull. _I have to save them! I promised myself! _

Tears fell down his face as, stilling, he finally gave up the struggle.

He wanted to help them so badly but he knew deep down he couldn't. He knew what would happen if he tried.

But that didn't make it right. "Damn you Sasuke," he sobbed.

_Why is he protecting me? Why does he care? _

He averted his eyes, biting back the torrent of tears.

The clatter of rifle rounds marked the end of the group's panicked flight.

In the silence that followed Naruto heard spent rounds clatter to the floor, filling the large empty hallway; a sickening reminder of what had just passed.

Sasuke released Naruto from his grip awkwardly. Stepped away from him.

Sobs shook his whole body as she stared with venomous hatred at the officer who stood a few metres from him. He wanted to attack him, to tear him apart. To make him feel what he felt. Words wouldn't do the job.

Behind Baki, the officer who had ordered this atrocious act, the younger of the soldiers fell to the floor, repulsed by what he had just done. The other two soldiers crouched besides him, trying to comfort him. The officer in charge turned, walking towards the pair.

"It was for the best," he started. Holstering his gun, he flung his coat onto his arm. "They would have been a threat to us all, especially the women and children."

He still would have launched himself at the officer as he strolled past if it weren't for Sasuke, who put an arm on his shoulder. It was an awkward, unnatural action, as if it was something somebody had told him you could do. But it made Naruto understand. He just wasn't sure what.

Was it that the man was telling the truth? That he would have been killed, and still would be?

Once Baki had gone, Sasuke took his arm off Naruto's shoulder abruptly, as if touching something he didn't want to be in contact with for too long. As if he didn't know what he'd do if he was in contact with him for too long. He turned, walking the way the officer had departed.

"Wait!" he cried after Sasuke, torn between wanting to hit him for stopping him from helping the people or crying on his shoulder because of what had just happened.

"Where are you going?" Scrambling after the fleeing Sasuke, Naruto knew what he had to do.

He caught up with him, spinning him around until he had clasped a hand on each of his shoulders and was looking directly into his eyes. The look on Sasuke's face told Naruto that he was nervous about something that was about to happen; scared of where it would lead; something he wanted to happen.

_So he feels it too. _

He leaned forward. Sasuke's eyes fluttered closed. Sasuke's facial muscles relaxed, as if giving in to some internal desire.

"We need to go out there!" Naruto whispered, determined. Expecting a look of great respect from Sasuke, at the sheer bravery of what he had just suggested, he began to feel the horror of what had just passed slip away.

Sasuke's eyes opened sharply, flashing red, the look on his face changing immediately. He pushed Naruto's arms from him.

"_Idiot_," he snarled, before marching off again.

Naruto stepped back, confused.

_What the hell? He's not coming with me?_

"You - you coward!" he screamed after Sasuke. Naruto decided not to follow him. He was reminded instantly of the teenager in the tube carriage.

"I don't need you!" he shouted again, trying desperately to get some face back. He couldn't let Sasuke seem better than him.

He made his way back to his dorm, downtrodden by Sasuke's reaction, but equally angry with the man for not trying to help.

He went the long way back to this dorm, hoping to walk off some of the anger he had accumulated in the past ten minutes. He prayed he didn't see Baki again. He didn't know how he would react.

---

_I'll go tonight, _Naruto decided once he had returned to his room. He couldn't let the guards know - they would try and stop him, he was sure of it. He couldn't stay here, that was all he knew. His mind was still sickened by what had passed. He was still angry at himself.

_I should have pushed Sasuke away! I should have been stronger! _

_I need to make preparations... _Naruto was unsure of what he would find out there. On his way back to the room he had asked three military personnel what the hell had happened, and they genuinely seemed not to know. He needed food, water, a way to keep warm and a flashlight. That was all he'd be able to get his hands on anyway.

He made his way to the company kitchen, near the mess hall. It was small and didn't serve a great variety of food, but this place had obviously been built to survive a nuclear attack, so had a lot of canned food._ Is that what this is? A nuclear attack? _

Naruto's thinking was cut short as he passed a pair of officers engaged in hushed discussion.

"...got in down by the vent system up in east wing," the officer began.

"We held 'em off, don't know how long this dump is gunna last though. The quake really took a lot out of it."

The second officer seemed to agree with that he was saying, and nodded knowledgably. "It looks like it wa-"

The officer noticed Naruto passing and nodded his head. "How you doing son?" he said cheerfully.

Naruto smiled and nodded, telling him he was doing great, before hurrying off in the direction of the mess hall. He felt a mild tinge of anger. they reminded him of Baki.

_I can't let them suspect a thing. _Naruto was already getting worried that Baki may guess at his intentions.

Why did he get the feeling this place wasn't as safe as they would like him to think? His thoughts went back to Sakura and her child; he hoped they would be okay once he left.

He managed to charm the mess officer into letting him take a large supply of food, using the excuse that he was an expert in the field trying to discover exactly what was going on, and that he'd be the first to know his findings if he helped him.

_Expert in what? Freaking loud explosions? _

When Naruto got back to his room he lay back on his bed. He felt like a hero; a bold adventurer. He felt proud. He would _not _let anybody else die.

He awoke at 1 am, hushed his watch alarm quickly, and scampering out of bed, he set off. He had already formulated a plan: the vent system in east wing. He beamed recalling how he'd picked up that information off the guards.

He wished Sasuke had seen him, spying. A small part of him worried about Sasuke instinctively. He still wanted to know why he had called him an idiot and why he had been so angry. The idea that he would never know saddened him greatly and he half considered turning around there and then to search the man out.

A wave of anger from what had happened early made his mind up for him.

_He should have helped me! _

He crept though the quite halls carefully, because even though it was early morning there were still quite a few guards out on patrol. _I mustn't be seen!_

Through luck alone Naruto managed to avoid detection and arrived at east wing. He imagined the service room was where they had got in. At a guess Naruto also assumed that east wing was exactly the same as west wing in design.

Naruto began searching for the door when he heard a shout from around the corner. Rounding it cautiously, Naruto saw a women and her child.

_Sakura! _he thought. _What are they doing here?_

He smiled, but his expression changed quickly when he saw what was going on. Sakura was chasing after her son, who looked as if he was in pure terror.

"Wait!" she cried, imploring him to stop. "Wait!" Naruto's heart moved. He had never heard such raw emotion in a scream.

She caught up with her son in a few giant bounds, and held him so tightly to her Naruto was scared she might smother him. Naruto saw the boy's face. Pure unbridled terror.

He emerged, walking slowly towards the pair, to see that she had started to rock backwards and forwards with him again. He could tell she was almost as scared by the way her son was acting as he was by whatever it was that had driven him to this state.

"Is... Is he okay?" Naruto asked. _Had the gas affected him? _

Sakura seemed surprised to see Naruto here, but glad at the same time. She tried her best to hide the fear in her voice. "It's this place. He's been like this since we got here. He doesn't like it. We need to get out of here."

Naruto's face lit up. This was his chance to be the hero.

"Come with me!" he declared, "I'm going right now, I've been planning it all day. I'm going to save everyone I can."

Sakura looked at him, and began to...laugh. She forced herself to stop when she realised he was being serious.

"You're kidding, right?! That's madness. You won't survive five minutes out there, whatever out there is! You don't even know if out there still exists!" Naruto could hear the panic starting to rise in her voice. Obviously this was the first time she was coming to terms with it.

Naruto kneeled down next to the pair and paused. "I... I think I know what your son's going through. I feel the same, something doesn't feel right down here." He stood up again and cast his eyes around the hallway, catching sight of a door at the end of the room marked 'Ventilation maintenance room'.

"Besides, you just said yourself that you wanted to leave this place," Naruto said distractedly.

"I didn't actually mean it!" She looked shocked that he had taken her seriously. "Having my son cry himself to sleep every night is one thing, but having him dead is entirely another!" The panic in her voice began to be replaced with passionate anger.

"Get real Narugo! This isn't some action movie, where you'll go out and save the day! I saw a convoy of military come in the other day, similar to the guys who brought us in, and half of them were dead and the other half looked like they'd never sleep again!"

"It- it's Naruto," he mumbled.

She stood up, picking up her son who seemed to have exhausted himself sobbing quietly as they talked. She turned on her heels and stormed off with a flick of her hair.

"Goodbye Naru-"

She never got to finish. A colossal force shook the entire building, coupled with another almighty roaring noise.

_It's happening again!_

Naruto was thrown gracelessly to the floor as the entire structure creaked. It was as if someone was prising open the earth's crust. Naruto felt the whole building shift. His ears started to scream in pain again, but thankfully they seemed to be further away from whatever the source was than they were before.

The lights began to flicker. He was thrown back into the tube.

_The dead women, the teenager, the hands, the gas. Sasuke._

_No! _he shouted internally, gritting his teeth he pulled himself to his feet._ I refuse to let anybody else die. _He jumped to his feet and ran towards Sakura who was huddled over her son. He threw his mask back onto his face, which previously had hung around his neck form earlier, tugging at her sleeve.

"We have to go!" he roared. It was evident by the look on her face that she could barely hear him, but she decided to trust him. He pointed at his mask and she followed suit, forcing the other one on her terrified son.

Pulling her to her feet he charged down the hall, and grabbing the handle of the door, he yanked it open. _Shouldn't someone be guarding this? _he thought. It made little sense that somewhere that had earlier been under attack should now be left unguarded. His heart sank. Did this mean they'd sealed it?

The building felt like it could collapse at any second, massive chunks of grey concrete beginning to fall around them.

Through the door sat a ragged hole in the wall, a few planks of wood propped against it, but it remained unsealed. Naruto decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, scrambling through the whole and pulling Sakura with him.

Through the hole lay a narrow passageway with a vent system on one side and a mess of wires on the other, the tunnel stretching into the distance. Flicking the flashlight on he carried on, at a walking pace now. Strewn across the floor were pieces of concrete and other hazards. Wires crept out at all times, trying to trip him.

The tunnel went on for about three hundred metres, at the end opening out to a small chamber. Naruto cast his eyes around. Similar to the design of the whole facility this was obviously the end of the road: a small concrete shell with a grating on one wall, the vent system rose to the surface here. Naruto could see a small hole next to where the vent shaft exited, a small shaft of moonlight peering shyly through.

_Damn it! _Naruto thought. _Where did they get in?_

"Now what?!" Sakura screamed at him.

Suddenly the shaking stopped, the noise subsided and eerie silence followed.

Naruto froze: the click of a gun being cocked stopped him in his tracks.

He heard a merciless laugh and the officer from earlier, Baki, emerged from the shadows holding a pistol, pointed directly at Naruto's head.

"I'm surprised you fell for that'n boy!" he cackled with laughter. "You honestly think they'd talk about that kind of stuff with you walking along? You're hardly a discrete looking chap."

Naruto's heart plunged. His stomach turned. _No, _he thought in disbelief. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to. With sickening realisation he realised it made sense. The lack of guards, the fact that he'd been given food so easily. How could he have been so stupid? And to lead Sakura into this trap with him?

He felt a sudden flash of rage, aimed mostly at himself.

The anger that had tormented him all day bubbled to the surface and he clenched his fists, feeling his nails bite into this skin. Blood ran down his hands.

The officer noticed this. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you son, not that it makes any difference. You ain't getting out of 'ere alive." He beamed.

"That gas shoulda finished you off. If it wasn't for that black haired fella of yours..."

_This doesn't make sense!_

"But knowing the kind of person you seem to be, you try anything funny, I'll shoot her first." He laughed as he watched this hit him.

"I never understood you people..." He continued, spitting on the floor. "Caring for another human being?"

Naruto snarled angrily at him. _Think Naruto!_

It suddenly all made sense... the way they'd got there so quickly with the gas masks... the way they'd killed those people; his gut instinct... _What is going on here?_

"All humans do is take take take, they never give anything back. You're one of those suckers who has it all taken." He grinned again. "I, on the other hand, gladly take it."

He couldn't think. He was frozen to the spot. Tears began to well in his eyes.

"Now you're responsible for the death of a women and her child. It would have been better if you died on the tube really, wouldn't it?"

Naruto saw red again. This time he didn't stop. Tears burned down his face, and he screamed, rage coursing out of him. He charged towards the officer; saw the pistol swing around to face him.

He closed his eyes.

He heard the crack of a pistol shot being fired.

Naruto stood still, his ears ringing. _Am I dead? _

He opened his eyes. Sasuke stood in front of him: a smoldering pistol in his hand.


End file.
